The Evolution of my PC Specialist computer - standard build to water cooled monster

tom_gr7

tom_gr7

Life Serving
oh yeah I watched Dazmode a few days ago, his accent is mint for PC stuff. Its still gonna be some time till i actually get the money to start my project. I am going to follow TTL's 360mm rad mod (clicky) which i'll hopefully be able to do over the summer.

For those that aint got a clue what the mod is, the trooper case has fan 120mm or 140mm fittings in the roof, with just about enough space to install a 30mm thick rad either 240mm or 280mm. - but only in push or pull. The mod allows a 360mm rad, 30mm thick would be ideal then I can squeeze in a push pull configuration. Although I will have to remove the case handle AND make adjustments to the top panel. But i think it will be worth it.

I do want coloured fluids though, dont fancy clear tubing and water. But planning to avoid the premixed stuff, read you have to change that every 6months. Which probably isn't going to be ideal.
 
halox

halox

Enthusiast
To be honest, personal choice is what it's about. I use clear tubing and De-I water. I probably gain only a fraction of a degree over fancy liquids. If you are going for looks have a look at the pearlescent liquids: Mayhems Aurora in blue is downright sexy!!! It comes in about £15 per bottle and you need to change it every 2 - 3 months but wow!!!! Looks great, especially if your case is open for viewing and all lit up. The UV reactive is nice too.

Also worth noting is coloured fluids are generally bad and gunk up your system over time as the dyes break down. You are better with a clear liquid and coloured hoses. Or clear hoses and UV reactive liquid.

I took a sample of my water today to test and it is still non-conductive. It has been in now for about 4 months. The next time I do a drain and refill I'll video it. All good for the youtube viewers!!!!
 
tom_gr7

tom_gr7

Life Serving
hmm, this seems to change on a daily basis, whilst i would love coloured fluid, i dont want to being emptying it every 3-6 months or multiple times per year. Not only is it going to take alot of time, but its also going to cost alot. Once or maybe twice a year would be acceptable.

Where do you buy your watercooling gear from by the way? There only seems to be a few retailers, special tech, aquatuning and watercooling uk.
 
halox

halox

Enthusiast
I got my GPU blocks on ebay for about £10 each. This was the real money saver. I got quite a lot of things on ebay. CPU block, hose clips, etc. Here is something you will find interesting. A complete breakdown of the costs. Not sure if should do this but if this helps others then it is a good thing. If you want to see the detailed item go to ebay and input the item number at the end.



I would definitely recommend this pump: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4rEnEmNGGM
 
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tom_gr7

tom_gr7

Life Serving
wow thats cheap. lol you dont want to see what mines likely to cost... neither does the missus... haha
 
halox

halox

Enthusiast
tom_gr7 said:
wow thats cheap. lol you dont want to see what mines likely to cost... neither does the missus... haha
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Yeah, the water blocks (CPU and GPU's) were stripped and checked when I got them. If I had bought the two GTX590 water blocks new the price would be nearer £500 easily.
 
tom_gr7

tom_gr7

Life Serving
halox said:
Yeah, the water blocks (CPU and GPU's) were stripped and checked when I got them. If I had bought the two GTX590 water blocks new the price would be nearer £500 easily.
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well, im trying to acertain if my EVga 680SC is actually a reference design. If it is then i could consider getting a waterblock block for that, although it looks like they are upwards of 70 quid.

edit- yes my card is a reference design. :)

means i could watercool this build. :)
 
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halox

halox

Enthusiast
tom_gr7 said:
well, im trying to acertain if my EVga 680SC is actually a reference design. If it is then i could consider getting a waterblock block for that, although it looks like they are upwards of 70 quid.

edit- yes my card is a reference design. :)

means i could watercool this build. :)
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It looks like you are ok. This is a good option. http://www.syscooling.com/news/Industry_News/527.html

Syscooling will certainly be a manufacturer I will look at when I change in a few months. The easiest way would be to email them. The price will be good too.
 
halox

halox

Enthusiast
tom_gr7 said:
I kinda like this one though... http://www.aquatuning.co.uk/product...S-NVXP-Nvidia-GTX680---polished---copper.html

:(
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It looks nice. You have to decide where on the slider you want to be. On one end of the scale is looks (also linked to cost) on the other is performance. Water cooling blocks tend to have very similar performance characteristics it is mainly the aesthetics that change. You have to decide for yourself. Personally I went more to the performance side. Each to their own. Get ready to have an amazingly cool and quiet computer though.
 
tom_gr7

tom_gr7

Life Serving
I will keep researching and planning, I dont want to rush into anything lol. There are quite a few videos and plenty of "guides" online. But it just makes me want to do it more haha
 
halox

halox

Enthusiast
tom_gr7 said:
I will keep researching and planning, I dont want to rush into anything lol. There are quite a few videos and plenty of "guides" online. But it just makes me want to do it more haha
Click to expand...

Research is definitely the best way. Whatever happens when it's watercooled you'll be glad you did it.
 
steaky360

steaky360

Moderator
Moderator
keynes said:
What's the worst thing that could happen? And how often maintenance is needed?
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K

Karnor00

Bright Spark
tom_gr7

tom_gr7

Life Serving
keynes said:
What's the worst thing that could happen? And how often maintenance is needed?
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from what I've read it depends on the liquid. IF you go for the fancy premixed brands then at least every 6 months if not every 3 months. But distilled water with coloured tubing and either a biocide or a kill coil is said to last much longer.

Whats the worst that could happen?well, i cant imagine a custom loop bursting like the older AIO units. As long as you take your time to design and build it, making sure your connections are fitted properly. I cant anything going wrong to be honest.

Its actually as expensive as i thought. You could probably watercool your HAF X for about 500quid (inc cpu, gpu's) you could probably do it cheaper actually.
 
tom_gr7

tom_gr7

Life Serving
got an email off EVGA saying that it wont void my warranty if i remove the heatsink. Not bad eh.

Took a look a my palit 580, might pop the heatsink off have a play for a bit, its not got no warranty left anyhow. ps dont tell palit ;)
 
halox

halox

Enthusiast
Some good stuff guys.

To answer the 1st question: The worst that could happen is you could kill yourself. Although very unlikely there are other less severe things that could happen, like destroy your computer. If you don't do routine maintenance on it then you may get more problems than someone who maintains it regular. I take a small water sample every month and check its continuity. If it drops below 1000K ohms then I change the liquid. To change the liquid takes about 1 hour. That is all the maintenance I need to do. Every few years I will open the CPU block and check for gunk. If there is gunk in the system then it gathers in the CPU cooling matrix. If there is no gunk then there is no need to go any further. If you use dyes and additives then you have a higher chance of gunk and a full system clean may be required. You may get a leak which is the most likely worst to happen. If you keep your liquid with a high resistance then it should not cause too much damage. You can also spray PCB's with a silicone spray to add a protective coating. You should also design your loop to minimize the risk.

I love the water cooling photo, brilliant.

When I am saying I am going to cool via the soil there are a lot of unknowns here. This is not the sole cooling. I have 360mm radiator too. This is just an experiment. I am also aware of problems I will encounter. Which is why I am going to experiment first before I settle on a final decision. I have aluminium sheets which I am going to use to help dissipate the heat from the copper. The soil I will be using is near the surface but is constantly wet. I can wet it more if needed. The main point here which I think a lot of people are missing is I do not want to go far below ambient air temperature. If I did I would have problems with condensation. This would make it too risky and is the last thing I want. Imagine a 1000W heat source dissipated through a basin of water. That water would heat up over a period of time until it reaches "the wall". The place when it cannot get any hotter, as it dissipates the heat at the same rate it absorbs the heat from the source. Now imagine the same 1000W heat source dissipated through a bath of water. The water will heat up and again hit "the wall". Due to the larger area for heat dissipation and a greater surface area the "wall" will be lower in the bath than in the basin. Meaning my water loop will be cooler on full load. How much? Time will tell, but I will keep you posted. When I have all the parts and stuff I will lay it out on the grass and make a wee vid before it gets buried.

Good news Tom. It sounds like you are moving along with this quicker than you had anticipated. Great news on the GPU.
 
halox

halox

Enthusiast
keynes said:
I probably stay away from it, I am having enough health issues right now :)
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You asked for the worst!! If you don't know what you are doing mixing electricity and water is always a bad idea. That's why they should never mix.
 
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